Over 100 leaders of American tertiary institutions have signed onto a joint statement opposing what they term unprecedented government overreach and political interference by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The statement was released a day after Harvard University sued to block President Trump from freezing billions of dollars in federal funding after it rejected a list of White House demands that it argues would undermine its independence.

President Trump has cracked down on academic institutions since taking office, accusing them of mishandling pro-Palestinian protests and of allowing antisemitism on campuses while sending Harvard a list of demands, which it has since rejected.

After Harvard rejected White House demands, including a mask ban and an end to all diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, the Trump administration froze $2.3 billion in funding to the Ivy League institution, threatened to strip its tax-exempt status and take away its ability to enroll foreign students among other demands including seeking info on institution’s foreign ties and faculty.

Harvard has since sued the Trump administration in an effort to block the funding freeze, calling it unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.

American Association of University Professors Prof Veena Dubal explains, “Everyone was looking to see who would be the first universities to stand up to the Trump administration. And I’m really, really heartened that it is Harvard, one of the nation’s oldest institutions, certainly one of the most well-endowed, with a lot of, frankly, political connections. I mean, this could be a game changer in terms of saving the sector. Harvard University’s Office of the President is taking a very different stance. They’re saying, look, we have taken very, very strong stances and positions to curb what you might perceive as being anti-Semitism on our campus. We do not think that what you’re doing is lawful, and we will not allow the federal government to essentially decide what happens on university campuses.”

The Trump administration has since also paused some funding to universities, including Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, and Brown, among others.

Trump here asked why he was considering changing Harvard’s tax-exempt status. “I think Harvard is a disgrace. I think what they did was a disgrace. They’re obviously antisemitic and all of a sudden, they’re starting to behave. But when you see where they, what they were saying, what they were doing, when you see the way they took care of events, when you when you watch that woman, that horrendous president that ruined the image of Harvard, maybe permanently in Congress, in the halls of Congress, when you take a look at what happened there, it’s it was horrific.”

In a letter to the Harvard community, titled “Upholding out Values, Defending Our University”, the institution’s president Alan Garber who is Jewish vowed to fight hate with the urgency it demands but that the government’s funding freeze would put in jeopardy critical research into children’s cancer, infectious disease outbreaks and Alzheimers among others – as students also weighed in.

Harvard student Sara Speller says, “There’s a lot of research at risk, whether it be about gender studies and gender-affirming care, as well as reproductive care. There are certainly Middle Eastern studies and all kinds of research, especially within sciences and medicine, but also especially within, like, regional studies are very under right now.”

Harvard international student Zak Ramouki adds, “The President of Harvard’s decision not to obey the Trump administration’s attacks on the university is pretty courageous. And I fully support it. I think it’s important as a community here to gather and face this all together. And I think this is an attack on academic freedom. And I think it’s a threat to democracy.”

Another Harvard international student, Leo Gerden, adds, “All students here are incredibly proud right now that Harvard is standing up for academic integrity, that it’s standing up for free speech. And we just hope that Harvard is going to continue to stand up against any pressure from the Trump administration.”

In a public statement the leaders of over 100 Universities and Colleges across the United States called for constructive engagement with the government and warned that its actions were now endangering American higher education and that while they were open to constructive reform and did not oppose legitimate government oversight, they do oppose undue government intrusion and rejected what it termed as the “coercive use of public research funding.

These developments are coming in a broader context where the Trump administration has now revoked the legal status of hundreds of international students as part of a broader immigration crackdown and the targeting of individuals who had taken part – in some form or another – in pro-Palestinian protests across the country, often at university campuses last year.

Once a visa is revoked, a student must leave the country immediately or risk deportation; the status of their studies is of little consequence.

Several lawsuits have now been filed in that regard as well, citing a lack of due process.